Norton tree worker in National Geographic's 'Big Bad Wood'

When it comes to taking down trees, a new reality show puts the spotlight on how challenging and dangerous it can be to take down the big ones.

“Big Bad Wood” on the National Geographic Channel features four local Boston area tree companies and also includes Tory Cooper, a Norton resident who works for Tree Tech in Foxborough.

Paula Vogler

When it comes to taking down trees, a new reality show puts the spotlight on how challenging and dangerous it can be to take down the big ones.

“Big Bad Wood” on the National Geographic Channel features four local Boston area tree companies and also includes Tory Cooper, a Norton resident who works for Tree Tech in Foxborough.

While many people think you simply cut down a nuisance tree, Cooper said there is actually a science to making sure it comes down right without personal or property damage.

“People work hard for what they have and you have to respect that. My job is to make sure nothing happens in the process,” Cooper said. “I’ve been nipped once or twice. When a chain saw bites it’s almost like an animal bite; it tears your skin open.”

Cooper’s company specializes in using tall cranes to take some of the bigger trees down and on the show Cooper is featured as a climber/hanger. He said he is picked up by the crane, dropped off at the top of the tree, rappels down after setting the rigging and then the tree is cut in half.

“I get to the job and make sure the foreman’s all set,” Cooper said. “My guys trust me that the rigging won’t come down on top of them.”

During the approximately 10 weeks of filming Cooper said it was humbling to see how the television people work because they were a great crew. He said they came first to watch the process, take down the lingo, and then attended daily safety meetings the mornings of filming.

“I think once a 4,000 pound pick (a section of a tree) flew over their heads they realized it wasn’t a game,” Cooper said.

Cooper, who was born and raised in Norton and graduated from Norton High School in 1992, has been in the tree business for 20 years. At 18 he had his own business for a time and also built cell phone towers and worked on small skyscrapers.

“I don’t think I ever had a job where my feet touched the ground,” Cooper said. “The challenge is what I love. Trees are real challenging; there isn’t one that grows the same.”

Some of the other challenges Cooper said they deal with when removing trees can be the owners, neighbors and animals.

“Squirrels are the funniest. They seem to panic and for some weird reason they go up,” Cooper said. “They don’t go down a tree and try to escape. They jump to the ground. I’ve seen them jump 60 feet and then get up and run away.”

For viewers tuning into the show, Cooper said he hopes they get a little better understanding of the process of tree removal and the fact that there are many ways to remove a tree, most of which are extremely dangerous.

“I’ve done it time and time again. I know what will work and what won’t work and what won’t work is a ladder on a tree,” Cooper said. “You may get lucky but every different species cuts differently.”

As for his role on the show, Cooper is waiting with everyone else to see what the final edited version looks like.